Most Underrated Skills Sought by Employers To be able to experience vertical mobility, you need to focus on social mobility and characteristics that make you an affable as well as a popular employee.
By Sania Gupta
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The world is moving faster than you can comprehend. The digitalization and globalization have made the workplace super dynamic. You have to update and revamp your skills to keep pace with the ever-evolving work scenario. In the process of evolving yourself, you often ignore a few soft skills which are a priority but might not show up as any basic job requirement. To ace the corporate ladder, you are ready to join business courses, social media marketing courses, finance and logistics, etc. But empathy and humane values are often buried under the pressure of chronic deadlines.
To be able to experience vertical mobility, you need to focus on social mobility and characteristics that make you an affable as well as a popular employee. Browse through the following headers and envisage yourself as boss's apple of the eye and the best companion of the colleagues:
- Receptive to Feedback and Criticism
To climb the corporate scale, you need to improvise and update yourself. This is possible only if you seek an opinion of those who matter and are open to criticism or any kind of feedback. Stay away from people who are flatterers and seek advice and criticism of others. Make it a stepping stone for amendments and challenge yourself to improve constantly.
Ramneet Kaur, COO of Rapid Skillz highlights, "People who are susceptible to change and open to new suggestions and ideas are more likely to carve a niche for themselves in the workplace. People who refuse to acknowledge any change or aren't amenable to criticism wouldn't thrive in the long run."
- Communication
This underrated soft skill is taking the corporate world by storm. The prospective employers value communication skills more than the degrees or qualifications in the resume. Even in college/university admissions, a person with smart communication skills sweeps the positions easily. "The employees should believe in open, two-way communication and emphasize on developing good communication skills. The employee has to be smart enough to impress the boss and the customer alike," shares Rachit Bhandari, CEO of Rachit Bhandari & Co.
- Time Management Skills
With the surmounting work pressures and chronically pressing deadlines, what is needed is an effective time management strategy. You should be able to map a schedule making a rough estimate of the time that each activity is going to take. A contingency time gap should be kept in mind in case a job takes more than the stipulated time.
Lavish Mahajan, CEO of Igen Solutions says, "One must devise an effective time schedule so that there are no impending deadlines hovering over your head and you are easily able to sway through each task. If you do it well planned, you will accomplish the task more efficiently and productively. Keep a contingency time gap aside and try to fulfil the tasks calmly without much hullabaloo."
- Develop and Evolve Constantly
You must continually be on the learning mode and be ready to update your skills. "A little knowledge is dangerous' is apt. The company should introduce programs to timely update the skills and knowledge bank of employees. In fact, the research shows that employees quit a job (even if the salary is handsome) when they do not see chances of learning and growth across various sections.
"The quest of learning must never fade. Age and experience is no bar. With the dynamism in workplace and the competition around, employees at all age groups and positions must seek continuous learning and development. Keep enrolling for different courses and diversify your portfolio," suggests Ashish Gupta, MD of New Idea Farm Equipment Company.
- Networking
Not many acknowledge the relevance of networking. Networking is the single most important factor that can give you promotions, turn your prospective clients into customers and turn your casual customers fall for your brand. You must not shy or hesitate to meet people, join various business organizations and invest your time in people.
Bhavdeep Silkey Kohli, founder of Kohli Star Image School shares, "Networking and reaching out to people exhibits confidence that you have in yourself and your brand. It is likely to widen the horizon of your clientele and brand patriotism. You should strategize and meet new and prospective clients as well as your old clients and strengthen the bonds."
The Crux:
You have to focus on building a dynamic resume and creating a solid profile. However, to reach the top of the workplace, you have to emphasize on being empathetic and dwell on stronger communication and connections. Follow the unchartered path and pave a way through the untrodden routes so that there is no one in your competition. Build a strong character profile and develop a plethora of soft skills which no one else is considering relevant.